Café Saarein

Saarein is the oldest surviving women's café in Amsterdam, a classic "brown café" in the heart of the Jordaan that a collective of ten women bought and named after the original owners, Saar and Rein, back in 1978. A frisky, warm, and unmistakably queer corner bar spread over three cozy floors, it's built around music, pool, and easy conversation, with a lively pool table, darts, and pinball downstairs, vegan and vegetarian bites always on offer, and a full vegan menu on Fridays. Predominantly lesbian in spirit but genuinely open to everyone who respects the space, straight, bi or gay, it becomes a hub of Amsterdam's Pride festivities each year. The café is currently in a meaningful transition: after 25 years at the helm, longtime owner Dia Roozemond is retiring, and rather than let a legendary piece of queer Amsterdam history disappear, a new generation, barwomen Talisa Harjono and Sterre Marijn Krot, together with community volunteers, is working to take it over and turn it into a foundation run by and for the community. Check ahead for current hours as the handover continues.